When property and assets are jointly owned, and one of the joint owners passes away, the property and assets will automatically pass to the surviving party.
Both names will remain on the title until a survivorship application is completed. To remove the deceased party’s name from the title, the surviving party must lodge a survivorship application with the Land Registry.
When is an application required?
Once a joint proprietor passes, we recommend lodging a survivorship application.
If the surviving proprietor intends to sell the property, a survivorship application should be lodged before a sale of the property so that the updated title can be included in the Vendor’s statement.
What is the process?
The survivorship application can be completed through PEXA, an online transaction portal.
There are certain documents required to complete the application, such as:
- Application by Surviving Proprietor (ASP) form
- Certificates of Title
- Verification of Identity
- Statutory Declaration
- Death Certificate
- Notice of Acquisition
The turnaround time to process a survivorship application is dependent on the circumstances of each application. Generally speaking, an application may take up to 10 business days to process.
If there is a bank involved?
The surviving proprietor will need to contact the bank about the mortgage on the title. The surviving proprietor may:
- Pay out the loan; or
- Take out a new loan in their individual name.
Which of the above two options to go with would be dependent on the surviving proprietor’s situation.
If there is a caveat on the title?
The processing of a survivorship application may prolonged if there is a caveat lodged on the title.
A caveat is essentially a notice placed on the title which prevents any person from dealing with the property. A caveat will need to be withdrawn or removed from the title for the survivorship application to be lodged.
The time required to remove a caveat is dependent on the options taken to remove it. For instance, if a caveat is removed through an urgent application to the Supreme Court of Victoria, the application may take up to 55 days to process.
Once the survivorship application is lodged along with any required documents, the surviving proprietor will be reflected as the sole owner of the property. This means they will be solely responsible for any rates, taxes, and all other responsibilities concerned with the property.
How can we help?
Contact W Legal Group if you have any questions or require assistance with lodging a survivorship application.
